From High-Paying Job To Cleaning Airbnbs: Woman On Income And Work Shift After Moving To Melbourne

Moving to a new country usually brings major changes in both personal and professional life. In a similar case, an Indian woman who moved from London to Melbourne with her family has shared how the transition reshaped her career in unexpected ways.

Shweta Desai said she previously worked as a Head of Product for a commercial business website in London, holding a senior corporate role with a strong title, salary and established professional identity.

She added that after relocating to Melbourne two years ago, she found the job market very different from what she was used to, which makes it difficult to find a role aligned with her experience. Over time, she struggled to secure work in her field despite her background.

Struggle After Relocation and identity Shift

Shweta said this phase also affected how she saw herself, especially in social situations where she was often asked what she did for work. She recalled responding with, “I’m figuring it out,” and sometimes saying she was a housewife, adding that she felt she was no longer fully living her life.

She described this period as emotionally difficult, saying she felt like she was “putting on a mask” and disconnected from her earlier professional identity. In her post, she also reflected on how much of her identity was tied to her career, writing, “The title. The salary. The wardrobe. The answer to What do you do?’ at every dinner party. Gone.”

She further added that when the professional title disappears, a person begins to understand who they are beyond it, and said she eventually realised she liked the person she was becoming.

Airbnb Job, Rebuilding And Changing Views On money

When her job search did not lead to suitable opportunities, she eventually took up work managing Airbnb apartments through Airtasker in Melbourne. The role involved cleaning rooms, handling linens and responding to guest queries, which she described as a practical step that helped her regain structure in daily life.

Alongside this, she also began teaching English to children and was slowly working on other professional projects.

She said the experience changed how she views career, identity and self-worth, adding that losing a title helped her understand herself beyond it.

According to media reports, she had previously earned nearly Rs 1 crore annually during her corporate career in London.

Shweta now describes her journey as a “life audit,” where she is documenting her career and identity rebuild across different stages of life. In her caption, she wrote that “rebuilds don’t happen in private” and said the series is meant for people who have lost a career, title or version of themselves.

Overall, Shweta Desai’s journey highlights how career transitions, especially after moving countries, can reshape not just income and work, but also identity, confidence and self-worth. The video has also gained attention online, with around 25,000 views.